About “Kill You”

“Kill You” is the opening track to the album, and is a lyrical tirade against Kim, Debbie Mathers, girlish rappers and women in general. The call-and-response part after the hook is a highlight of any given Eminem concert.

Em wrote in Angry Blonde:

I wanted to start the album with that song because everybody in the press was like ‘'what’s he gonna rap about? He’s not miserable anymore. … The whole idea of this song was to say some of the most fucked-up shit. Just to let people know that I’m back. That I didn’t lose it. That I wasn’t compromising nothing and I didn’t change. If anything…I got worse.

What makes the song important?

In a contradictory world full of hypocrisy free speech is the first line of defense against contamination in collective thinking.

The beauty and power of feminism has been bastardized to promote highly dysfunctional forms of psychological and physical abuse perpetuated by women. Sexual manipulation for financial gain is promoted as empowerment. Deception is promoted as cunning and violence against men perpetuated by abusive women is supposed to be endured by men if they want to prove they are ‘good men’. Any righteous anger men express against careless, abusive, destructive females is decried as misogyny and totally disregarded by feminists making it impossible for humanity to address unhealthy attitudes and behavior in our society honestly. If feminism is a celebration of the strength of women how can we also be too fragile to hear the harsh truth about how our behavior impacts the men in our lives?

Kill You is Eminem’s artistic rebellion against being labelled a misogynist for having the audacity to acknowledge impact of abusive women in his life. It is a brutal and unapologetic fight against the evil of censorship which makes self-reflection impossible, permitting humanity to hide and perpetuate our destructive cruelty toward each other behind a wall of socially enforced silence.

What have the artists said about the song?

Em wrote in Angry Blonde:

What happened with “Kill You” was I came off the European tour in October of ‘99 and I called Dre and I told him that I needed some new tracks. He just happened to be going through some when I called. I remember him sayin’, “I ain’t really got no new tracks, but I’m trying to work on some new shit today”. Meanwhile, there was a track playing in the background. I asked, “What’s that?” He responded, “What’s what? You mean this?” and he puts the phone to the speaker and it was the “Kill You” beat. I told him, “Send me that shit.” He was really surprised. “You want this? This is some little shit we fuckin' with.” I said, “Whatever, send me that. I … will … kill … that … track.” He sent it to me the next day and i wrote the song. I recorder it weeks later when i started recording the Marshall Mathers album. The first thing I came up with was the hook: “You don’t… wanna fuck with Shady… ‘cause Shady… will fuckin’ kill you.” I wanted to start the album with that song because everybody in the press was like “What’s he gonna rap about? He’s not miserable anymore. He can’t rap about being broke no more, he can’t rhyme about his pain and his misery ‘cause he got money.” That’s why I started it up with line “They said I can’t rap about being broke no more, they ain’t say I can’t rap about coke no more.” That right there gives you an idea of what the album’s all about. The song is ridiculous. The whole hook is basically bashing women. Like, “I’ll kill you ever if you’re a fuckin’ girl.” I kill bitches, I kill anybody, then at the end of the song I say, “I’m just kidding, ladies. You know I love you.” It’s kind of like you could say whatever you want as long as you say you’re joking at the end. Which is cool ‘cause that’s what I do. It’s funny ‘cause people think that song is about my mother all because of the first couple of lines. When I say, “When I was just a little baby boy,” and when I say, “Oh now he’s raping his own mother."After that the references just stop. The whole idea of this song was to say some of the most fucked-up shit. Just to let people know that I’m back. That I didn’t lose it. That I wasn’t compromising nothing and I didn’t change. If anything… I got worse.

Where can I hear this song?

Currently, The Marshall Mathers LP is available on all major streaming services and iTunes. Physical copies are available also.